We headed out of Washington for our 2 plus hour drive to Salem, Oregon, our final capital before arriving home. The sun was breaking out and the heat that we had avoided throughout our trip was building.
We found the capital building quickly, thanks to our iPhone and all of it's apps. No dome on this one, but still a rotunda. There was a long garden in from of the capital with an abundance of flowers, hedges, grassy areas and fountains.
As we approached the building, we saw the Liberty Bell replica that we had seen at the other capitals we had visited. To the East of the building was a display of all the US flags in a circle. We walked along the path, with dogs in tow and located the flags with personal meaning for us (MA, CA, VT, IL).
In the front of the capital building were two large reliefs referencing to the history of the state. On the backs of these two reliefs were etchings of more history, showing maps of different eras.
To the left and right of the main entrance, more etchings in the marble about Oregon's government and it's citizens and their equality.
As usual, Tom kept an eye on the dogs as I went into the building to check it out. At the center of the grand entrance was the state seal on the floor surrounded by stanchions. Directly above was the rotunda. To the left was the Senate and to the right was the House. Many of the walls were adorned with images of important moments in the state's history.
I joined Tom and the dogs outside. It was mid day and it was time to get some nosh. I had heard of the Word of Mouth Neighborhood Bistro on a fellow bloggers website that I wanted to check out. It was only a few blocks away, so we headed over some lunch.
The bistro was located within a former house. The weather was getting hotter, so I looked for a parking space with some shade. There was a small strip mall located right next door, so I parked under a tree, rolled down the windows for the dogs and we proceeded to the restaurant.
Upon approaching the restaurant, there was a sign telling us that one should not park where we parked or you will get towed. Their parking lot was full at the restaurant, so I decided to check with one of the tenants of the strip mall, a dry cleaning store.
I entered their store and asked the woman if she would mind. Her reply let me know that it was not here store that had issues but the tattoo parlor on the end, which was closed. I still didn't feel comfortable staying there, so I drove down the street, looking for shade. I found a spot under a very large tree and parked.
Tom had found a seat in the front room and was looking at the menu. They were only open for breakfast and lunch and we looked more closely at the breakfast menu. I ordered the filet mignon chicken fried steak and Tom got one of the hash dishes.
While waiting for our meals, we talked with our server and told her where we were coming from and where we were headed. She offered us some hints about which way to go. She also confirmed that they had creme brûlée french toast on the menu after Tom saw a sign on he wall.
I am a huge fan of creme brûlée! Huge! We were simply elated and surprised when our server brought us a sample on the house. We saved it for dessert after having some wonderful meals. All in all, a great stop at a wonderful local restaurant serving mostly local ingredients.
We headed out, stopping for gas, and then tried to follow our servers directions towards the shore. Tom had wanted to get home via Route 1. I would have rather drive down the 101. It was a Saturday and we were only 800 miles away from home. I figured we could punch through it and get home that night. Tom won the battle in which way to go.
We traveled down the highway a bit and took the turn that the server told us to. It was supposed to be scenic and a great drive. What we got instead was a detour as there was an issue on the road ahead. The detour had us take a 60 mile winding road down to the coast.
It took us over three hours to get there. On top of that, as we took the left down Rt. 1, all of the campsites were booked. One after the other, No Vacancy! Who knew the Oregon coast was so well traveled.
We eventually found a spot in the early evening at the Eel Creek Campground. We set up camp, hopefully for the last time. I did a quick check and found that we had traveled for hours and made a whopping 60 miles less distance back to home. Let's just say I was less than amused at the fact.
We drove into Coos Bay to get some dinner as our supplies in the car had dwindled. We found a pizza joint that really is not worth mentioning. As we waited for our order, we stopped at the grocery store to pick up some ice and milk for our coffee the next morning.
It was very dark on the way back to camp, so dark that we could not find our campground. Oregon should spend a little more money on signage me thinks.
We eventually found it and laid ourselves to bed after some pizza and beer. A few pizza bones for the dogs and we were out. Our last night camping on a blow up mattress. No more flashlights or fires. The tires lasted. Just one more day on the road. What could go wrong now?
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